Thursday, December 12, 2013

Sony has announced the HXR-NX3 ($3,495, expected in January). This isn't a large sensor, inter-changeable camera, and it doesn't have 4K, so it won't get a lot of coverage, but it's a good general purpose professional level camcorder.

Shot in Istanbul by DP Den Lennie, this video demonstrates the beautiful results that can be achieved on our new HXR-NX3 handheld HD camcorder. Boasting leading lens, sensor and LSI technology, in addition to built-in WiFi technology which allows it to be connected with devices such as smartphones and tablets, the HXR-NX3 is ideal for the professional videographer.

We go behind the scenes with DP Den Lennie in Istanbul as he explores our new HXR-NX3 handheld HD camcorder, to beautiful effect. Boasting leading lens, sensor and LSI technology, in addition to built-in WiFi technology which allows it to be connected with devices such as smartphones and tablets, the HXR-NX3 is ideal for the professional videographer.

The HXR-NX3 is capable of light MP4 file simultaneous recording. The MP4 format (720p, 3Mbps) produces a network-friendly file that users can transfer wirelessly from the camcorder to a smartphone or tablet computer using the PlayMemories™ Mobile smartphone application (*3). Once transferred, the MP4 file can be uploaded to a cloud server, social media sites, video sharing sites and other platforms (*4). Users can download the PlayMemories Mobile app from the Google Play Store or App Store.

The camera records to AVCHD 2.0 at up to 1080/50p (in Europe) and uncompressed 8 bit 4:2:2 is available through the HDMI output for connection to an external recorder. (It's interesting that manufacturers are now including this information - a recognition, surely, that some users like the option to record the uncompressed output externally).

"What I was expecting ( and been waiting for ) to replace the NX5U with AVCHD 2.0 using the sensors from the PMW150/160. They have just been a little slow since the introduction of the PMW 150/160 likely too many NX5U's in the channels !!! The combination of my NX5U and now FDR-AX1 will do me unless a large sensor 4K comes out with better low light than the FDR-AX1."

1. Magic Lantern Magic Lantern’s achievements have always been pretty incredible and they’ve been doing this for a few years now. However 2013 saw thee first major image quality improvements which you absolutely had to shoot with. Raw video especially was a revelation.

Sony is heavily investing in a brand new sensor tech that will likely find his way in production cameras as early as 2015. I already told you a couple of weeks ago that Sony developed a 54 Megapixel sensor with on sensor PDAF. Well today I have been told by a very trusted sources that this sensor is also the first that has not been designed with a classic RGB (Bayer) pixel structure.

Go niche. You want to position yourself as the leading expert in a given field, says Pulizzi. “News” or “sports” or even “content marketing” is probably too broad these days, as more and more people have jumped into the fray.

The build quality is, as expected, solid and reliable. A steel frame surrounds the camera, making it feel solid and dependable. Would it break if I dropped it? Probably, however it would likely reliably continue to record video even if the buttons were damaged and the screen was broken. It just strikes me as the kind of body that would maintain functionality of the guts even when the outsides were dinged, battered or dented.

Beganyi now works exclusively in Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve, running off a Mac Pro, coloring this past season in version 9. To grade a show that Zamboni has called "constantly shape-shifting," Beganyi says Resolve's multiple nodes and versions in real time give him a distinct advantage.

Back in October, Filmmaker spoke with a few of the driving forces behind Dogfish Pictures’ Accelerator Program, which seeks to bring the start-up financing model to independent film production. I’m pleased to report that James Belfer and Company’s months of hard work culminated in a successful Demo Day at the Microsoft Technology Center in midtown Manhattan last Friday.

The great PPro trimming overhaul of version 6 gets some subtle improvements in CC to make it even better. It’s going to take some divine intervention for an NLE to achieve Avid’s level of trimming bliss but PPro is getting closer. I love that you can select multiple edit points and choose ripple or roll trims very quickly. The speed with which you can dig in and achieve a trim via the mouse is quite nice but you can dynamic trim via the keyboard as well.

One of the areas where Adobe has worked hard to improve Premiere Pro is trimming. Trimming adjusts the point where two clips touch; this is also often called the “edit point.” With the Creative Cloud release of Premiere Pro, Adobe has added more options and simplified the entire trimming process.

Ryan tells us that 99% of the shots were colored with Magic Bullet Looks and Colorista II – two plug-ins from our Red Giant Color Suite – and color definitely helps in telling the gritty story. Color Matcher (from Key Correct – a part of Red Giant Keying Suite) was also used in the color correction process.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Chase Jarvis posted a video of his latest adventures - with a DJI Phantom. Interestingly, he sent it up with a Sony RX100 II, because he wanted better footage than you get with the various action cameras (that's something I've been thinking about too!) He was also excited to use the WiFi feature of the camera to remotely monitor what it was shooting. So they attached it to the Phantom and took it flying...in Iceland....over water.

Now, he says "we've been flying it around in Seattle with the GoPro, it's been fun, but we're also thinking that we could upgrade the camera a little bit." So you're probably wondering; why didn't he take it flying with the RX100 II in Seattle, before going to Iceland?

I was wondering that too.

I was also wondering whether the camera (which is $748) could be carried by the Phantom. Strangely enough, earlier in the day I had done a Google search to find the maximum payload weight for the Phantom. The post I had found that morning said 200g, which would make the camera too heavy. I've subsequently found a post that suggests the Phantom can carry 400g...this actually makes sense because it can carry the GoPro Hero camera (136g) with a DJI Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal (230g). So the RX100 II at 281g is within limits; but I still can't figure out why they waited until Iceland to test it?! Wouldn't it have been easier to test the stability of the camera and copter in a warmer, more controlled environment?

More puzzling, they seemed surprised that the WiFi app dropped-out after 15 feet. I've used the same app with a Sony Action Cam, and it drops off once you get further than 15 feet away...using it indoors. So they'd clearly not tested that before either.

Oh, and the battery life of the Phantom, which is only about 8 minutes in warm weather, can drop down quite a bit when it's cold, as it probably is in Iceland. It's unclear if they were aware of that, or whether they were keeping track of battery usage; but given the rest of their preparations, I'm assuming not.

Which made the whole adventure seem rather casual, and the final result almost a foregone conclusion. It felt like they wanted to see if they could lose the thing. Sure, it only cost $1,250 in lost equipment, but you'd think you'd do a bit more planning and testing than they had. Particularly if you were going to Iceland to use it.

We’re pleased to announce that the Digital Bolex D16 will begin shipping to backers starting this week. If you are a backer, we will contact you shortly to verify your shipping addresses and contact details, so please make sure that emails from digitalbolex.com will clear your spam filter.

The new SLR Magic Anamorphot 50 jointly developed with the help of EOSHD is here in it’s final non-prototype form and I’ve shot the above video with it (Sony FS100). This should give you an idea of how the flare moves around during a shot and the general anamorphic aesthetic you are able to get with the adapter.

"Doesn’t anyone know how to slate? Don’t they know how they can influence the beginning of a scene? That they can set the tone for the actors? Why are they taking so long to announce the slate and get out of there? What ever happened to the discipline of the film days where you’d get the slate and only the slate in shot and get the hell out of there ???”

In answer to the diverse questions that came in from the largely student audience, Scorsese may have made frequent reference to his advancing years, but especially considering the 71-year-old was at the end of a long ten days viewing and adjudicating the competition films, he was, as ever, gracious and chatty about his life in film, past, present and future. Here are the highlights of that talk.

The idea was to create to a show that would feature these and other friends of Paul's in intimate conversation with him, one-on-one. Paul's big concern was that it not feel like a TV show and we began to brainstorm about how to do that. He asked me produce it and left it to me to execute the look that would best support the feel he wanted the show to have. Once we'd discussed his desires and he knew I understood what he wanted, he gave me free rein to figure out how to pull it off.

Web series creators are dealing with a unique situation where audiences expect quality writing and acting worthy of ‘real TV’ but can also get away with lower production value because the audience can understand the lack of studio backing for independent channels and lack or resources especially when there are no big names attached. If the writing is good, and a real passion is there, it will find an audience.

This article/video is all about Postproduction. I’ll be talking about editing and color correction workflow, Premiere and After Effects, touching up shots with “Visual FX,” and my techniques for handling files. I’ll also be taking a look at a bunch of shots from my Portrait of Macerata video and explaining what finishing work I did on them.

While the FAA suggested in 1981 that model aircraft operators fly below 400 feet, the document was just an advisory, and two aviation lawyers contacted by Gigaom said the agency has no authority below 700 feet — for now.“The FAA is already looking at it .. but it’s not going to happen for two years,” said John Todd of Todd & Levi in New York, who noted that the number of amateur drones in the sky is growing quickly.

Freezing time w/ ONLY ONE camera, 360 degrees, 7200 fps | YouTubeInteresting, though maybe rather complex technique that probably only has limited application....

Monday, December 09, 2013

Inspired by the opening animation for Community, Trevor Penner set out to create something similar in After Effects and walks through how to create a crumpled paper animation with the use of TrapCode MIR.
TrapCode MIR lends its self well to this effect, allowing you to get a 3D look right within After Effects using a custom paper image as a base. Trevor also rounds out the look of the animation using RedGiant’s Mojo.

'How To Qualify Your #Documentary For An #AcademyAward' by @HunterWeeks for @OldFolksRock | Film Courage

1. Beware the internet."Everything is being pulled from the web and then, under deadline pressure, [filmmakers] are trying to find out who owns it. Usually, those filmmakers end up having to hire a very experienced research clearance person to try to sort out things. There's a way to work with things from the internet, but it's the wrong approach to take everything as placeholders and then at the very end, under a time crunch, try to figure out how it's all going to be licensed." -- Scott Norman

Although initially reluctant, Paramount did agree to Payne’s idea of releasing the movie in black and white — with one caveat. Some markets and outlets would be given a color version, which meant that shooting on black-and-white negative was out.

The Producer’s Best Friend is a new utility from the folks at Intelligent Assistance. Many times, at the end of a project, producers need to generate massively detailed reports listing all music cues, stock footage, titles, effects, even transitions. Compiling these reports can take days.

The camera has been created by a Danish father and son team Tommy and Lasse. 63 year old Tommy is an expert on the Lathe and precision mechanics whereas his 30 year old son is similarly skilled in micro-controller software. Together they have put together a Super 8 camera that can rival high end 16mm cameras in functionality.

On the other hand shooting weddings and events, a low-budget web series, or thirteen half-hour episodes for a modest reality show in a mere 24 days with next to no support – not even a camera assistant! - 4K image capture might not be the wisest choice. God made small-format cameras for a reason; they are ideal for documentaries and non-fiction type programming like sports, nature films, and reality shows.

I had decided to open with a long shot that could hold some titles and then do a ‘big move’ the shot starts inside a scrap van, booms up to meet Simon and then booms down to his feet, I did this on my ‘Steadi Boom’ which is a combination of a GoPro on a twin axis brushless stabilised head and a boom that I have made that works with my Steadicam arm, vest, monitor, batteries and vehicle hard mount.

You can easily create your own photographic lighting studio with a backdrop, lights, and some of the homemade diffusers, reflectors and gels that you can learn to make in this series of videos. This video tutorial shows basic set-up and techniques for lighting objects or images with artificial lights.

AMC extended the runtime of the last two episodes from 44 to 54 minutes – 75 minutes apiece with commercials – and raised its advertising rates to as much as $400,000 per 30-second spot. The 21 minutes of commercial airtime in “Felina,” the show’s final episode, may have earned the network $7-8 million in advertising revenue.